Growing Pains

We’ve heard about it our whole lives. Our knees hurt in middle school as we grew inches over a summer. We turned 16 and drove away with responsibility we couldn’t fully comprehend overnight. Physical growth is inevitable. The kind of growth that changes us as a person though… that becomes a choice as we age.

As many of you know, we have a sweet six month old named Lilah and she is growing and changing daily. She discovers with wonder new textures, new sounds, and her new abilities. It’s got me thinking about what life will look like as she grows… and what motherhood will look like as she grows. She will continue to change, whicih will require me to continue to change. But, there will be parts of us that will also begin to mature. Things that don’t feel so new, but that have some roots and There is so much fresh growth in this little being and I just keep remembering… everything she will ever need is inside of her! And once she grows, she can then mature.

There is a huge amount of focus on growth, on learning new things and learning how to better approach life. And its SO important. Every so often though, we need to take some time to sit; to marinate. In all reality, to mature. I went through about three years of learning things daily, whether they were about the body, the world or about myself and that was massively important. And with pregnancy and the birth of Lilah, I had lots of time and opportunity to marinate in those things. I now experience myself in moments putting into practice these things I learned before. They have turned from knowledge to a piece of who I am and now new things are like seedlings in my life. Needing water and nurture as they begin to grow.

All that to say, we can always learn new things and always grow. In all of it - especially the sticky stuff - there is no substitute for time. Time allows the subtle beauty to emerge from all the tears and cracks created by growth.

I encourage you to take a look at where you are in this little saga. Where have you grown to a place of maturity? Where can you see your life bearing fruit? And, which places are little seedlings just growing their first branches?

This is good perspective to have because it helps us understand the places that we have earned fruit, and those branches that haven’t weathered their first winter yet. Be kind to those little seedlings. Give them love, nourishment and compassion. They’ll have their moment too.

Big hugs,
Tess Faust